Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

This USDA Profile map of Texas for Impatiens capensis (jewelweed) shows it growing in only a couple of counties in far Northeast Texas. It likes wet or moist ground, in clay, loam or sand. Since most of the East Texas soils leans toward being acidic, and the Austin area soils are pretty alkaline, we would not bet on it doing well in this part of the state. However, if you want to experiment, your best bet is to go to our Native Plant Suppliers section, type in your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box, and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and landscape and environment consultants in your general area. They all have contact information, and you can call or e-mail them to see if they have it available or can order it for you. If you don't find anything there, you could pick a town like Texarkana, TX, which would be in that far northeast corner of Texas, and search on that. You might find it interesting to read some of the comments on the plant from Dave's Garden Plant Files. We tried an Internet search looking for a company advertising the plant in an online catalog, and had no luck.

Impatiens capensis

Impatiens capensis

Impatiens capensis

Impatiens capensis